


of self-sacrificing pining phantom thieves and thunder reigns

by lesamoreuxvi



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Electrocution, Gen, M/M, Major Character Injury, Mutual Pining, Whump, before futaba's palace, ryuji's fine don't worry, they're dumb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:47:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23673322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesamoreuxvi/pseuds/lesamoreuxvi
Summary: ‘Taking a nap, Skull?’ Joker said and Skull could hear the smile within his voice.He begrudgingly cracked one eye open. ‘Come on, man. We’re still, what, 10 minutes away? Great time as any for some sleep.’Akira gripped the steering wheel softly, but did not turn his head. ‘You never know when you need your right-hand man,’ he said, which earned a groan so deep from Ryuji that Makoto shifted in her sleep.‘Dude. Why are you doing this to me?’--Ryuji's pining, Akira's pining and Makoto just wants everyone to be okay.
Relationships: Kurusu Akira/Sakamoto Ryuji, Sakamoto Ryuji & Phantom Thieves of Heart
Comments: 4
Kudos: 149





	of self-sacrificing pining phantom thieves and thunder reigns

**Author's Note:**

> Uh... yikes?  
> This started as the first chapter to a fic in which every character gets a mental ailment per chapter because there's not enough whump in this fandom, but eventually just turned into this 2k one shot. I might still do the fic tho.  
> I wrote this late at night with internet research about electrocution so don't expect everything to be 100% accurate.  
> Enjoy!!

Skull pulled on his Thief attire as a means to cool himself down. As much as he liked the feeling of making a difference in the world when they were driving around in Mementos, he’d almost say it wasn’t worth it if he died of heatstroke in the middle of defeating a Shadow. Mona had said many times that that was all his air conditioning could pump out when there were so many people inside, but Skull doubted it. It’d almost be better running around. At least then the soft breeze of death and darkness would blow through his hair -now that he thought about it, it sent a chill down his spine. Not a good idea, he decided.

He threw an offending look to the driver of the Mona bus. Of course Joker would not let them relax on a hot day of summer, not even after finishing up Kaneshiro about a week ago. It had been their most dangerous heist, but it also brought to them their newest ally: Makoto Niijima, the student council president. 

Speaking of, said student council president nudged Ryuji softly. He raised his head from the warm window he had been leaning against and discovered she was giving him a Relax Gel-- one of the last ones they had. Ryuji met Makoto’s eyes and shook his head with a negative hum. 

‘If you really need it, you should take it. We’re almost at the rest platform, anyway, and we’re heading back,’ Makoto said.

‘I’m not dying, it’s just so damn hot in here,’ he huffed in response, trying to untangle his red necktie to offer himself more breathing room. ‘And besides, ain’t we running out of those?’

Makoto seemed like she was grimacing under her mask. ‘We are, but I don’t think we’re going to run into any more Shadows. At least, I hope not,’ she sighed. Makoto leaned back. This run of Mementos had sapped her energy, being needed more for her healing than her magic attacks. Ryuji didn’t think she’d last for one more fight.

‘It’s better to be safe than sorry,’ Yusuke added from the front. ‘It’s a lot more useful to be able to fight than to lean on the safety of items.’

‘Yeah, yeah,’ Ryuji grumbled in response. He didn’t like the derogatory tone Yusuke was using. ‘Don’t think I forgot about that time you ran away from the fight and we had to call Ann to the front.’

‘What you’re implying is preposterous! It was obviously the ailment inflicted on me by that Shadow, Ryuji.’

‘Hey! Codenames!’ Ann reminded them. ‘If you’re acting so brave, why didn’t you snap him out of it before he ran away?’ she chastised Ryuji, frowning under her Panther mask.

Ryuji didn’t reply, choosing instead to right his back, imagining his mother telling him to correct his posture. It was one of the rare times he wouldn’t let his temper get the better of him. He knew everyone was exhausted and he didn’t want to make it even worse for his friends with his whining. 

A comfortable silence fell upon the Phantom Thieves as Makoto nodded off, followed by Yusuke. Ryuji yawned and yearned to follow their lead. He closed his eyes, letting his head rest limply on the backseat.

‘Taking a nap, Skull?’ Joker said and Skull could hear the smile within his voice.

He begrudgingly cracked one eye open. ‘Come on, man. We’re still, what, 10 minutes away? Great time as any for some sleep.’

Akira gripped the steering wheel softly, but did not turn his head. ‘You never know when you need your right-hand man,’ he said, which earned a groan so deep from Ryuji that Makoto shifted in her sleep.

‘Dude. Why are you doing this to me?’

Akira shrugged and kept his eyes on the road. Ryuji resigned himself to just gazing at the hypothetical train that passed periodically with its red lights spewing shadows around them. Don’t misunderstand, he liked that Akira depended on him and needed, _needed_ , him, but it was obvious Ryuji was more of a doer than a thinker. Somehow, Akira didn’t seem to mind his impulsiveness, even when it got them in trouble. He was understanding, but also smart and wise and cunning when he needed to be and sometimes Ryuji’s heart would flip when he spoke and locked eyes by accident.

Okay, stop. His mind was going down a path he didn’t want to take right now. No, nope, not the time. He was lucky his flushed cheeks could be blamed on the heat of the bus.

Ryuji felt the car skid to a halt and shifted his gaze to see Akira hesitate on stepping out of the car. He raised an eyebrow but the words to the question were lost on his lips when he saw what had rendered Akira so unsure.

A Shadow, rattling its chains around, was waiting for them in front of the platform. As far as Ryuji could tell, it had its back turned to the bus and hadn’t noticed their presence yet.

‘Think we can sneak past?’ Ryuji whispered and saw Akira startle for a second. He shook his head slightly. ‘No.’

Beside him, Makoto tensed. Ryuji didn’t even notice she had awakened, his head hurting from the pressure, but exhaustion defeated by adrenaline for a bit of time. ‘That’s a big one. Joker, what do we do?’

The rest of the Phantom Thieves perked up as well, waiting for Joker’s word to act.

‘We either ambush him, or he gets an advantage,’ Joker mused.

Makoto grabbed the front two seats and lifted herself closer to Joker. ‘I know what you’re thinking, but we can’t win this fight. We’re low on supplies with barely any healing items left and everyone’s exhausted.’

‘So what are you suggesting?’ he replied, just a hint of snark in his tone.

She sighed. ‘We obviously can’t sneak around like this, and getting out of the bus and then sneaking is even more of a risk.’ Makoto stopped to ponder for a second, as if they weren’t about to get ambushed by the biggest shadow Ryuji had ever seen in Mementos. ‘My best option is, I guess, ambushing then retreating when we get an opening.’

‘That opening might not exist.’

‘Brute force won’t get us anywhere, either!’

‘We don’t even know what type of Shadow it is!’

‘Except we do, it’s the Reaper. Remember, Morgana told us about it,’ Ann interjected.

Tense silence grew tighter until Ryuji swore he could just hear Morgana fuming, even in car form.

Makoto tried her luck again. ‘Joker, this is suicide. There’s no way we can take him.’

‘Maybe if we wait he’ll move?’ Ann suggested.

‘No,’ Joker sounded like he’d made up his mind now. ‘We’ve been here long enough and he hasn’t left the area.’

Ryuji sunk his fingers in the rough textile that covered the chairs. He swallowed the lump in his throat before speaking. ‘Wait, let’s think about—‘

He didn’t get to finish his thought as a something knocked the Mona bus off its wheels and he knew he’d hit the hard ground before opening his eyes. His bones ached of tiredness but still he clutched his bat in his left hand and got up. He struggled to find his balance but soon enough the image cleared and he let out a swear.

They had been cornered. Ryuji watched as the Reaper, that had apparently ambushed them before they even got a chance to decide on a plan, erupted in black and red smoke before appearing in its true from before them.

It loomed over the Thieves, even though it was only one shadow. Joker took out his knife and Ryuji could’ve sworn he caught a glint of light across the blade.

‘Guys, this is bad!’ Mona declared from his left. ‘We’re on the defensive, try to dodge any attacks you can. And no risk taking!’ 

Ryuji knew without looking that Mona had meant him. No problem, he thought, it’s not like he had the energy for surprises anyway.

The Reaper roared, rattling the chains around his hands as he waved his limbs. Ann yelped as she barely just escaped a gun attack. Makoto guarded her frame as she predicted a Mapsiodyne which would have inevitably made her lose her footing.

The Phantom Thieves really weren’t getting closer to defeating the shadow.

‘We don’t even get the damn chance to hit it,’ Ryuji spat out before a shiny knife cut the air way too close for comfort before lodging itself in the Reaper’s head. 

‘Good one, Joker!’ Mona praised the leader.

However, the disgusting creature refused to even feel the weapon and took the knife out without any difficulty. Ryuji felt the smile on his face dissipate as his hope grew dimmer. Anger was rearing its ugly head out from where he’d buried it deep down and he could feel the familiar fire in his chest, burning from inside out, itching for some action. Suddenly, he knew a way of getting out of this. There was something he could do, and something inside him was clawing to be set free.

He didn’t even take into account the guard his teammates had put up in expectation of the Reaper’s next attack. Ryuji grunted as he kicked back dust in his sprint towards the shadow, somehow abandoning his past exhaustion in favor of the rage in his blood. Credits to him, the shadow actually seemed a tad surprised to see a black figure actually attacking. The gasps of surprise and calls were lost on deaf ears. Ryuji fought with the spirit of his rebellion. He knew what he had to do in order to save his friends, but also something whispered that the cost might be too great for his body. He might… He might die.

He chose not to let his mind linger on that thought now because it would absolutely kill his drive to do what he intended. (He wasn’t even that sure what that was.)

Ryuji obviously missed Akira’s extended hand as if he could stop him from moving and he definitely didn’t notice the way Ann stuttered out his name, terror and surprise slipping out along with it.

What he did notice instead was the feeling of electrically charged air around him, raising the hairs on his arms. Yellow invaded the room and his vision turned to white, blood pumping crazy fast in his veins. He could almost hear his heart in his head, drowning out the sound of crackling electricity. As the current finally hit its target, he could almost feel his head explode from the pressure.

Ryuji struggled to stay conscious, vaguely feeling his knees hit the floor. He focused all his remaining strength into watching the Reaper wail in paint and dissolve into black and crimson smoke before him. Satisfied with his work, he swayed a bit before letting the rest of his tired body flop on the side. Garbled sounds reached his ears but he was far too gone to try and make them out. Misshapen colors faded in and out of his vision, but the images were shifted slightly to the side, making them awkward to watch.

He was so tired… Ryuji’s body had settled into a deep ache and there was nothing he could do to soothe it. As much as he wanted to reassure the concerned voices that were now hanging above him, the pull of sleep was stronger and he gave in, knowing nothing more of the world.

_________________________________________________________________________

Akira could only stand and watch Ryuji discharging electricity onto himself and the Reaper. He could only wish that he would magically take Ryuji’s place as he fell from the small height he had unknowingly reached.

From afar, Ryuji had looked like some type of god. Akira didn’t know that skill he had used, and didn’t know how he’d gained it.

Now, though? His body lay battered and singed in the middle of the path. Smoke was lazily rising from his skin and there was blood running from his nose, smearing his face. Ryuji had looked almost at peace when he collapsed, Akira noted.

Joker unfroze his legs and never ran so fast in his life. He sloppily fell to his knees beside his friend and almost cradled his head in his lap when Makoto shakily warned him against it.

‘He could have a head injury, or…’

Akira knew what her hesitation meant. Head injuries were obviously a serious thing, and it could mean the end to a normal life for Ryuji if things were really bad.

But there was no way he was considering the other option.

The more he looked Ryuji over, the more anxiety was crushing his chest. It was bad, it was so bad. His mouth hung open and blood was continuously staining his face. Small spasms made their way across his upper arms and legs, moving the body a little. Akira hoped he wouldn’t have a full-blown seizure. His palms seemed rough when he hastily grabbed one of them to check for a pulse.

His heart was showing signs of stopping until the faint feeling reached his fingers and Akira let himself exhale. 

‘C-Can any of you heal him?’ Akira asked them, worry cracking his impassive face. His voice broke on the first word and he struggled to appear at least somewhat composed before the team.

Ann sobbed somewhere next to him. ‘I-’

‘I can only do a Dia,’ Morgana spoke softly. ‘But-’

‘DO IT!’ Joker shouted. Morgana flinched but summoned Zorro. Healing light travelled Ryuji’s body. It didn’t seem like it’d done much but at least smoke stopped coming out of him. Suddenly, his chest rose and fell as he took a deep breath, slightly choking on the blood.

Joker swallowed around the tight ball of anxiety in his neck and turned his head to their navigator. ‘Mona, could you please turn into a bus?’

Turned out, moving Ryuji was a tedious task and Joker didn’t have the physical or mental strength to do it alone. Yusuke joined him, carefully lifting his head and doing his best not to jostle him too much. Makoto decided there was no way Akira could drive so she assumed his role while he grabbed the backseat, Ryuji’s head in his lap. Makoto drove carefully for everyone’s safety even though she was shaken and they all could see her hands trembling as she gripped the wheel.

Akira’s thoughts threatened to overspill as he watched Ryuji’s grimacing face and kept his hands on his wrist to test for a pulse every 30 seconds. He had watched it happen and he hadn’t tried to stop it. His best friend had left the safe place, had put his life on the line to make sure everyone else survived. Ryuji was a self-sacrificial asshole.

But Akira had never felt his heart squirm as much as it did when he watched him in action.

He’d been questioning it and danced around the answer that had been so obviously placed in front of his eyes. He’d been shutting his feelings out for so long that he’d forgotten what it was like. 

He imagined Ryuji’s grin, his sparkling eyes when he was proud, his drive and his determination to deliver justice. 

He imagined their hugs and Ryuji saying his place would always be next to Akira

Akira was undeniably, certainly in love with Ryuji. His right-hand man, his best friend, his pillar of strength…

And he was dying in his arms.

‘Makoto, fucking gun it!’ Akira raged to the driver.

_You’re not dying. Not if I have anything to say about it._

**Author's Note:**

> There you have it!  
> Was this worth coming out of writing retirement for? Probably not. I haven't written in a long time though, so sorry if the flow is a little weird.  
> Also, Ryuji is fine and they do eventually get together after some talking and worrying. Akira's a softie.


End file.
